DATE, Fukushima–Some local governments in Fukushima Prefecture have started decontamination operations using volunteers to remove radioactive substances released after the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

One work site in particular had a peculiar atmosphere, in which volunteers fought invisible, potentially hazardous radiation particles with simple equipment, making them appear to be cleaning a garden.

I participated in the decontamination volunteer work at a specific spot recommended for evacuation in Date, about 50 kilometers from the crippled nuclear plant.

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The Atomic Age is an ongoing project that aims to cultivate critical and reflective intervention regarding nuclear power and weapons. We provide daily news updates on the issues of nuclear energy and weapons, primarily though not exclusively in English and Japanese via RSS, Twitter, and Facebook. If you would like to receive updates in English only, subscribe to this RSS.

Additional Notes / 謝辞

The artwork in the header, titled "JAPAN:Nuclear Power Plant," is copyright artist Tomiyama Taeko.

The photograph in the sidebar, of a nuclear power plant in Byron, Illinois, is copyright photographer Joseph Pobereskin (http://pobereskin.com/)

This website was designed by the Center for East Asian Studies, the University of Chicago, and is administered by Masaki Matsumoto, Graduate Student in the Masters of Arts Program for the Social Sciences, the University of Chicago.

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